We’re eating braised short rib beef stew filled with new potatoes, young carrots, cipollini onions and celery in a sauce made from red wine, balsamic vinegar, coffee and demi glace.

Good things come to those whose who wait. Yeah yeah yeah, I know. It’s so cliche of me to say, but seriously dudes. You just can’t get the same flavors when you braise something or make a stew or gumbo and then eat it immediately. Some dishes need a little time to rest; a little time for the different flavors to mingle & marry as they sit in the fridge overnight. In my opinion, pretty much anything that is stewed or braised is going to taste 10 times better the second day. That makes this dish perfect for taking to potlucks or serving at dinner parties. You HAVE to make it the day before the event so there’s no stress at all the day of. We hope you guys love this one as much as we did. We’d love to hear any feedback from you in the comment section!

Place a large oven-safe pot on the stove over high heat. Add canola oil to the pan. Heat for at least 2 minutes until there are ripples in the oil but before the oil begins to smoke.

While the oil is heating, season the short rib cubes with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Lightly dust the meat with flour.

Working in two batches so as not to over-crowd the pan, brown the beef on all sides, about 3-4 minutes per side. Once browned, remove the beef from the pan and set aside.

Reduce the heat to medium. Add the mushrooms to the pan. Saute the mushrooms, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minute or until well caramelized. Remove from pot and set aside with the browned beef.

Pour off any oil pooling in the pot. Return the pot to the stove and increase the heat to high. Add the red wine and balsamic vinegar to the pan. Scrap up any bits that may be stuck to the bottom of the pan. Allow the wine and vinegar to reduce by half, stirring occasionally.

Once the wine has finished reducing, add the whole garlic cloves, thyme sprigs, demi-glace, instant coffee, kosher salt, black pepper, and reserved mushrooms and browned beef to the pot. Stir. Allow the liquid to return to a boil then place a lid on the pot. Place the pot into the preheated 300 degree oven.

Allow the beef to braise in the oven for 1 hour at 300 degrees. After 1 hour, add the cipollini onions, carrots, new potatoes and celery to the pot. Stir. Replace the lid to the pot and return the pot to the oven. Braise the stew for another 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until the beef is fall-apart-tender and the veggies are cooked through. Taste the stew and adjust seasoning as desired with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper.

Place the stew on the stove over medium-high heat, add the frozen peas. Stir and bring to a boil.

While the stew is coming to a boil whisk together the corn starch and cold water until all of the corn starch has dissolved.

As soon as the stew reaches a boil, pour in the corn starch slurry and stir the pot immediately. Cook for another 1 minute at a boil until the stew is slightly thickened and the liquid is more viscous.

Remove the pot from heat. Remove the thyme sprigs. Allow the stew to cool, then place in the fridge. Allow the stew to chill overnight. This will allow the flavors to marry and will give the best tasting results! Before reheating, remove the layer of fat that has risen to the top and harden overnight. (This is another great reason to chill the stew. Otherwise you will be eating all of that extra fat!)

Reheat the stew over medium heat until thoroughly heated. Serve with a great loaf of crusty bread. Enjoy!

*If you do not wish to make demi-glace (because it takes for freaking ever!) and you can't find it in a specialty store, you can substitute a really good beef stock or just omit it altogether. While not a fundamental ingredient it adds a rich flavor if you can find it.

Dear Amanda and Tyler,
Love all your food – photos make it work – just looking makes me hungry! on your other blog, foodporn, you posted a photo for cinnamon apple bars. is there a recipe for these? if there is, would you be willing to share it? thank you so much.

Hi Marla, I wrote the recipe up for you this morning. I just need to finish up the post in the morning and I’ll have it up either tomorrow or wednesday.

Thanks, J!

Alright, alright, alright! I’m getting that post up stat, nicole! i’m just glad you guys liked em so much. I tried writing up the post to go with the recipe earlier but had some writers block. gonna have to work on that tomorrow!

This has become our favorite dish for special occasions. I had a similar stew in San Diego at a restaurant called Iris and I loved it. I did a search for a similar stew and this was the closest one. After I made it I would say it is almost the same recipe. Only problem, I have never found the cippolini onions so I use pearls.

I made this recipe for a small dinner party and it was a hit! Everyone loved it. The key is to let it sit overnight. This also allows you time to relax and enjoy your guests. I can’t wait to make this for another party and it will be fun to try another red wine.

I made this the other night for my sister and brother in law. It was quite simply the sexiest damn thing I ever pulled out of the oven. I made a few alterations due to ingredients and lack there of,.. I didn’t have Demi glaze. In a panicked last minute effort to add “something” I did a 4oz combination of chicken stock, apple cider, liquid smoke and bacon grease. I figured all of these flavors would find homes in the stew. Luckily I was right. My local grocery store didn’t have boneless short ribs either, so I had to keep the bones in. I think it added to the flavor though. Also, in the first stage of meat prep, I coated the beef with chipotle powder in addition to the salt pepper flour mix. It added a nice smokey flavor.

After letting this sit in the fridge over night, I transfered it to my crock pot and let it simmer on low for 10 hours. Served it up with fresh made corn bread.